A view of Texas A&M from a non-legacy graduate

Colleges and Universities A-Z Texas A&M University
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<p>Hello!</p>

<p>I graduated from Texas A&M University in 2012 and am still active on campus in the community today (11/12/2014) so I figured I would share my advice with any potential students looking to come here. I plan on giving both positive and negative reviews of different parts of the university, and I am sure you will find some dissenting opinions against my negative reviews, but to each their own. </p>

<p>I. Things To Do/Surrounding Area.</p>

<p>For this being a college town, there is tons to do and College Station/Bryan has more than its share of entertainment and festivals to go around. There is a shopping mall, hundreds of restaurants, both local and main stream (GO TO HULLABALOO DINER FOR ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THE WORLD). With the transition to the SEC, football season here is nuts and a bit overwhelming with how many people come into town, all the tailgates, and all the related festivities. Don't not come to Texas A&M because people tell you it is in the middle of nowhere. Criticism like that belongs to schools like Texas Tech (no offense but Lubbock truly is way out of the way of anything). </p>

<p>Obviously football is fun/emotionally exhausting. However, the school boasts lots of successful athletic programs. The Women's soccer team has gone to the National Tournament for the last half decade to whole decade it seems (it is personally one of my favorite teams). Track and Field is on Divine Status. Women's Volleyball is extraordinarily entertaining. Women's Basketball is also at Divine Status (only to be rivaled by Baylor & UCONN). Softball has a nice niche following and the men's baseball plays out of a pro-like stadium. I strongly recommend getting an all sports pass if you come here and love supporting university sports. I am actually a solid men's basketball fan here and go to every game I can (the only other sport I buy tickets to besides women's soccer since I graduated). Men's basketball isn't the best, but they keep games entertaining with almost no blow out wins all season long (the team plays close games to just about everyone they play at home which is good for entertainment, stressful for results). </p>

<p>On campus food is alright. Its nothing to write home about. There are a lot of options and depending where you eat, some places you need to be careful of what you put in your mouth. </p>

<p>The campus boasts hundreds of student organizations. If you are looking to get noticed for jobs and internships, get involved in organizations and aim to take a leadership position. I'll discuss more on this in the academics section, but not only will an organization give you something to do, it will help you stand out from the other 40,000 students on campus (wiki has the total at 52,000 now I believe). </p>

<p>II. Academics</p>

<p>Here at Texas A&M University, you won't fall into your career or life purpose, you will simply fall out entirely if you do not know what you are doing or you do not know what you want to do. </p>

<p>This isn't the place to go to change your major five times. This isn't a place to go expecting the world to come to you. The academics are rough and the administrative staff is not extraordinarily helpful to the individual.</p>

<p>There are thousands of students here working on and graduating with the same degree you are going for. You have to have the discipline to achieve high grades and the self motivation to get heavily involved and lead outside of the classroom. If you simply go through the motions here, you won't be handed anything when you graduate. The Aggie network and Aggie ring only works in few situations. With 52,000 students graduating with aggie rings over the next four years, there needs to be a new qualifier to getting a job besides the shiny ring on your finger.</p>

<p>This is also not the same university your parents or grand parents went to. The campus cannot physically handle the amount of students it takes in. It can be hard to get your desired course schedules. It is a huge pain to find parking, even with a parking pass. You will not stand out by sitting around and only focusing on grades or occasionally chatting with a teacher. </p>

<p>I would also go far enough to say, most programs are not unique here by any means, at least for the undergrad student. A lot of significant professors and faculty work at the school because it is a research university. There are outstanding leaders in their respective industries at this university, but you will have a really hard time trying to work with them and most people will just end up getting snubbed or blown off by them in their undergrad courses. If you are a grad student I would bet this place is amazing to research at. A lot of the programs are filled with "weed out" courses and you will spend your first two to three years trying to not to fail in most high profile programs (Business & Engineering especially). </p>

<p>Professors are also very hit or miss here. You will have a few that treat undergrad students really well and are very understanding and accommodating. You will have just as many if not more, that can't even speak English in a way that will affect your grades. You have to keep in mind again, most are here to do research and not necessarily to teach. You will need to be good at taking notes, reading, and teaching yourself. </p>

<p>There is nothing wrong with graduating here, and the U.S. News Rankings of the schools various programs is bound to be a boon to anyone coming from here. However, you need to understand your degree is not as valuable as your parents or grandparents think it is. Don't come here because of "Legacy". Come here because you want to live and breathe Aggie tradition AND because you have what it takes to meet the challenge of being here. </p>

<p>III. Why I Wrote This</p>

<p>I was at a wedding and an uncle was talking to me and my significant other (also an Aggie) and asked us if his niece should go to Rice, Baylor, or Texas A&M University. He thought she shouldn't have any doubt about the choices, she should go to A&M. He was very upset when we told him, finances aside, she should go to Rice and if she is interested in medicine, then Baylor. If not Rice and not medicine, then Texas A&M. It occurred to me then that if I had the choice to go here again now in days, I would not. Not because I didn't have a good time here, but because of what its like to go here now in days. There are physically and academically too many students here and the university is still growing. It might not be a degree mill yet, but it surely is on the right track to getting there. If you aren't careful with what program you go into, you might be better off going somewhere else. Even if you are careful of what program you go into, chances are there are schools elsewhere that have just as good of programs with better faculty and research access for that same major. To future generations I would say: Apply here, but not only here. Definitely don't write off other schools for here because your parents think this or that about whatever schools you select (and really that advice applies to anywhere you apply).</p>

<p>I went to a school my first year because my mom liked it I then transferred came here because my friends loved it. While I had a great time here, I wish I had gone to a school that cared more about me learning. I never took the time to find a school that fit me for my undergrad career and I regret that the most. Do yourself justice, visit/research all of your options and see what fits best for you. Don't just come here because you are legacy or because all of your high school friends are coming here. You might find this school is completely different from yours and your peers expectations, or you may find this school is the perfect fit for you. </p>

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<p>Thank you for sharing your perspective, MechanicalFox. I can see where you’re coming from. I agree with much of what you have to say, for some students, based on my own observations of my son’s time there. </p>

<p>A&M, like so many large, state schools, can be the kind of place where some students get lost in the woodwork, have trouble registering for desired courses, feel disconnected or average or without direction or guidance. It’s an enormous school. You gave such good advice! I especially like your last paragraph and totally agree with this – “visit/research all of your options and see what fits best for you!” Absolutely!</p>

<p>There is no doubt that different people will experience A&M differently. But it is pretty much true that each student will have to strike out on their own to feel really connected (if that sense of connection is what they want), and each student will likely have to endure that small fish in a big pond feeling for at least some period of time.</p>

<p>My son has been very fortunate. His experience has been a bit different than you describe. </p>

<p>In a little over 3 years, he has had only one professor that he thought was not a very good instructor. He has been pretty impressed with all the others. He says they are experts in their fields and good or great teachers. He has never had a problem with the language barrier, though we have heard that others do.</p>

<p>He came into the school with extensive involvement in an extracurricular that he continued at A&M – which meant instant connections, an instant sense of belonging, and an instant sense of accomplishment. That definitely helped.</p>

<p>As a freshman, like pretty much all freshmen, I assume it was hard for him to set himself apart from his peers in such a giant school. (Lucky for him, he didn’t mind!) Anyway, over time, he became known for the things in which he excels, as did others, and he had little trouble finding a professor with whom (for whom?) he could do research.</p>

<p>He would likely say that he hasn’t ever felt “snubbed or blown off” by his undergrad professors. But, a few times, he has shared his frustration with a certain technique the profs have of forcing the students to discover their own flaws when working group problems. On a few occasions over the years, when his various groups felt totally stuck on a design problem or whatever, going to the prof about it was of little help. Apparently, it’s kind of common for the profs to take this one hard line with group projects: “I don’t know. What do YOU think is the problem?” (or something to that effect, anyway) In other words, they’re not of much help with those sorts of questions! They require the students to discover their flaws for themselves, it seems. I can see why that might cause some to feel snubbed or blown off. On the other hand, when my son has gone to office hours for help with a certain concept or a certain homework problem, he has always walked away satisfied and feeling helped and often encouraged.</p>

<p>He has not spent any of his time at A&M “trying not to fail.” Failing, or the threat of failing, has not been an issue for him at all. (I say this not to boast … but to point out that there are students who feel this way.) His first physics course did scare him at first! Test grades were so very low! He had never seen anything like that before college. And so, he did spend a brief time freshman year worrying that he might fail a course. But, he was wrong. The prof encouraged him and told him that his grades were actually high, not low (hard to believe that a 58, for instance, isn’t low!), and he ended up with a good grade in that class. But after that, he learned not to sweat the number grade – what counts is how you do on the curve compared to the rest of the students in the class. And so, he never thought again that he was about to fail a class. I do have a lot of compassion for those who have felt that way, and I do know that there are plenty of students who are on that precipice. That’s really hard and it’s admirable when these students stick it out and succeed! But there are also students who don’t experience A&M in that way. </p>

<p>This same son was also accepted by Rice and Baylor. Both good schools with lots to offer. (Most people can’t really put finances aside, btw – and there could be a long debate about whether the extra cost of a private school is really worth it.) We’ll never know if my son made the right decision, if there is a “right” decision. But he’s super, super happy with A&M. He has had a wonderful time there. He’s felt very challenged by his coursework. He’s also felt successful in it. He’s been very impressed with his profs. He loves all the extra stuff that he’s been able to do outside of his major. He really likes his peers. He likes the warm, friendly atmosphere at A&M. All in all, A&M has been a great experience for him.</p>

<p>Of course, I don’t want to take anything away from your description of your experience, MechanicalFox! Your post is very helpful and insightful. You are clearly speaking from the heart. I believe every word you say. I have no doubt that many undergrads experience A&M the way that you did (and do). You speak highly of some aspects, and you seem to feel a little regret about other aspects. That makes me sad for you and for others who feel like you do. Students go to college with so much hope. I’m sad that you didn’t have the knowledge you have now – that it’s so important to find the school that fits YOU. I wish you could look back at all your hard work and feel differently about it. It’s clear that you still like A&M – but it sounds like you didn’t feel very special there. I’m really sorry. I hope you feel special in what you’re doing now … in fact, it is clear to me, from your writing, that you have a lot to offer. Even though you don’t feel great about your choice, it seems to me that A&M accepted, and then turned out, yet another fine young man and citizen! Good for you for all of your successes!</p>

<p>Thanks again for so openly sharing your perspective! :)</p>

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<p>We had our first encounter with big-school bureaucracy this week on Monday. My freshman son was thrilled because this was the first time that he would be able to take advantage of Honors College priority registration. He worked out what he thought would be the “perfect” schedule, including continuing physics with Dr. Erukhimova, whom he really likes and signing up for a junior-level history class that he’s very excited about. Well, when he went to register, he found out that he had a hold on his account because the registrar did not have a copy of his final high school transcript. Now neither of us could figure out how he had been able to register for his first semester without it. (They had previously misplaced his meningitis vaccine record and his AP scores, which caused him to have to finish registration drops and adds weeks.) The “missing” transcript made no sense, but OK I’d try to help. </p>

<p>No problem, I had a PDF which I immediately e-mailed. Not good enough. They needed an original, sealed in an envelope. So, Wednesday I went by his high school (it was closed Tuesday for Veterans’ Day). I FedExed it to my son for 10:30 delivery. He received it today and immediately took it over the the office. It was deemed insufficient because the transcript did not show his graduation date. So, back I went to his high school to get another copy which showed the date and then went back to the FedEx office to arrange another 10:30 delivery at the cost of another $36. So, if all goes well he will have it by lunch and be able to walk it over to the office. But they say it can take 24 hours to remove the hold which would be on Monday, with priority registration closing on Sunday. I hope they can get it done, because his next chance is in December.</p>

<p>My son also tried to e-mail his aerospace engineering adviser for help, but she has so far not answered. He says that there are just two advisers for 1000 students, so they are swamped.</p>

<p>Even my normally cheerful son is pretty stressed out over this whole situation.</p>

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<p>Sorry, CC won’t let me edit my typos.</p>

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<p>…all I got from this was that TAMU was the wrong school for you, and you quite clearly regret going here. </p>

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<p>@beaudreau, call the registrars office directly to express your concern and pre-arrange the hold removal. <a href=“http://registrar.tamu.edu/general/contact.aspx”>http://registrar.tamu.edu/general/contact.aspx&lt;/a&gt; They might not realize that he is an honor student & the hold is preventing his registration (since non-honors don’t register yet). I try to let my kids take care of things, but jump in when they start to go astray. One thing I will say, assuming that everyone is on the same page at a large university ( like knowing that it is registration time for honors) is often not valid, and a phone call explanation from the paying parent is sometimes a good thing to get the needed action in motion. I hope it works out for your son! </p>

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<p>@AGmomx2. Thanks. My son has told all this to the registrars office. Like you said, I would prefer that he work this out if he can. I will see what they say today and then get involved if I need to.</p>

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<p>For those reading, PLEASE read @SimpleLife‌ son’s account as well. The more perspectives you get on the school the better, especially the good ones!
Yes, don’t let Physics scare you especially if you are an engineer. Staying above the curve is all you need to do, even if that means you get a 40 and it turns out to be a B!!
I am glad its working out for him! If he is super happy at A&M, then he most definitely made the right decision (if he is happy, that is all that matters in the decision regardless of his outcome post college in my honest opinion).
I apologize, for the clarification on the finances, I didn’t mean anyone should put finances aside in considering where to go to school. When this uncle had asked us about which school his niece should go to, we had asked well what is the financial context for her and he returned that finances were not a matter for her. Our advice was given then with finances aside, so that we didn’t consider things like the cost of private school. I am new to the forums, I can imagine there are several debate threads with that topic as the focus that I will probably avoid haha.
Truly, thank you for sharing your son’s experience. I want this to be a thread where students and potential Aggie parents can come and read and get a lot of perspectives on the matter. Its not that I think students don’t have great times on this campus, I for one actually did have a solid time. I have just seen so many students come into the school recently because their family/friends steer them this direction and then they get lost because those family and friends didn’t experience how BIG the school is now compared to a few generations ago. So many Legacy Families paint A&M as rainbows and bunnies that students don’t do as good of job as they can to prepare for their semesters here. Its one of the few common threads I can find in the students I talk to that are having an all around “negative” experience here so I figured I would write about it, especially since I experienced a lot of the same administrative difficulties like @Beaudreau‌ is having when I was there. </p>

<p>@Beaudreau‌ I would definitely agree that the administration is typically very overwhelmed by shear numbers. I am sad to hear that about the aero adviser, when I was trying to transfer into the program originally, she was extraordinarily helpful to me and very punctual with responses. Granted, it could not be the same adviser anymore since that was 5 years ago for me. She was actually one of the few advisers in engineering that I really thought did an exceptional job.
I think there is somewhere on Howdy that your son can check ahead of time next time and make sure he is has no holds. Holds are the worst thing that could happen to a student at A&M because it is typically for something the student would not have known about unless someone had told him/her. I have seen it happen to a lot of different people for a lot of different things. Its just one of those things if you can catch it ahead of time, you can overcome in time before it affects your planned schedule. Besides that, an adviser typically won’t force students in a class to undo the affects of a hold. </p>

<p>I can also second @AGmomx2‌, I often got snuffed as a student but for some reason if my mom called, she would get answers that an adviser wouldn’t give to me. Even me talking to my adviser 1 on 1 (for multiple majors’ advisers as well) was largely ineffective compared to my mothers phone calls. It is a good rule of thumb to let your children figure things out for themselves, but when it comes to dealing with administrative issues, definitely get involved. It is your money if you are paying the tuition and its a lot of added stress on a student. The last thing I ever wanted to deal with was administration, it takes so much out of a students academic focus. Going into to talk and deal with advisers can be exhausting. Just make sure you aren’t trying to make decisions for your student and that you are only trying to help them over an obstacle.</p>

<p>@shopsouthern‌ Oh please, I have given back to student organizations for the past three years, I talk to potential Aggies and have encouraged so many to actually go to the school. I give career advice and I have given internships to Aggies during summers. All anyone can get out of your comment is that you had a different experience than me, but not quite the experience worth talking about and sharing apparently. Contribute or get out of the thread. </p>

<p>As an overall response, I should probably clarify my purpose for doing this. My intent for writing my original post was two part. 1. I wanted to give potentials the view point that the fun and great times can come easy at A&M, but that academics and administration will not always come easy, and that is mostly because of the large amount of students now in days. 2. I have also been talking to a lot of alumni recently who have come out of A&M struggling to find jobs, and there is a common theme where a lot of them expected to find a solid job because they were an Aggie and didn’t actually take part in much outside of their academics. There seems to be this blind faith in the Aggie Network that it will come and hand you a job on a silver platter. While I think its common sense, future Aggies need to be aware that this is not the case. If you don’t put the work in both outside of class as well as inside class, you can be hard pressed to find jobs. I think Industrial Distribution is the only major that boasts about 100% job placement and I am not sure that is still true, perhaps there is an ID major on here who will post. </p>

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I very much enjoyed reading your post and I think you brought up some very good topics for prospective students to think about when deciding upon which college to attend. It did make sit and think as my son will be attending as a legacy in the Fall. My husband and I graduated in the late 80’s. And you are correct, A&M is not the same - where is Bonfire??? But… there are many similarities today as in many years ago…

The size of A&M in the 80’s was approx 40,000 and growing.

Parking was a huge issue - there was none available. I lived in the Commons and the Fish Lot across the tracks was about as close as you could get, unless you were lucky enough to know someone leaving the Commons and they would promise to wait while you hiked to go get your car so that you could have their space. So if we got a good spot - we never left!

Food - we could eat in the Commons or Sbisa - all cafeteria style- not so great, yet not so bad. No Starbucks. Coffee was made out of your hidden hot pot in your dorm room. There is a lot that you can make out of those little pots.

Registering for classes - next to impossible. You registered by the old telephone. We didn’t have computers or cell phones. We would fight with our roommate as to who could use the dorm room phone first to register. But if you went before the sun came up to the phone at the library before the long line formed - you could get registered without a busy signal. Classes would always fill up. So you would have to go stand in line at the drop/add table hoping to get in a class with the right prof.

Professors - it was all about research - I had great instructors and not so great instructors. If you took any math or science - those instructors did not speak English. So you didn’t go to those classes, instead you went to the Grad Students Tutoring class - who taught you everything you needed to know. We hardly ever met with a prof - it was always his assistant who helped. I went to a prof once to get advice on what to study for his test and his reply, “I dont use my notes or the books for test questions, I pull my questions out of thin air.”

Grades - it was tough. I was Business and my husband was Engineering. We lived for the curve! Without the curve, we would all fail. Except for the one student in class who made a good grade and throw our curve. We too, had the weed out courses. Although, we could change majors as often as we liked. Which is no longer the case.

I think what is comes down to is that all large universities have the same pitfalls. When making a decision about colleges, if you want to avoid the above, smaller more intimate colleges may be a better fit. It is definitely something to consider.

For any student no matter where you choose, opportunities will not come to you - you have to put forth the effort and find those opportunities. If you want to be a “2%er”, don’t expect to get much out of your college education. Even with 45,000 + students, opportunities are everywhere - go find them or make your own!

For those attending A&M - Fish Camp is a must.

Texas A&M was and still is an amazing University. It has provided us with so many opportunities, life long friends, and experiences like no other. Being an Aggie is a way of life - always. We now live in Georgia and proudly display our Maroon and White - I have complete strangers hug me in the grocery store excited to see another Aggie. The pride never fades.

Where ever you decide to attend - make the most of it and you will have the time of your life.

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I too can comment about the ridiculousness of trying to change majors here. It is easier for an external transfer to get in that it is to change your major, which to me is completely dumb. If you know what you want to do and are obsessed with being an aggie than there is no other school out there. But if you are like me and don’t have a 100% conformation of what to do with your life than there are better schools to attend.

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Hi!
I am currently a junior at a very large competitive high school in Houston. I have a 6.175/6.5 GPA currently (equivalent to about a 3.78/4.0) and I got a 1700 on my first SAT (taken in October with no studying just to see where I was) and just recently took it again in January but have not received my scores yet. I am taking both the ACT and the SAT in February, and plan on continuing taking the SAT until I get a 1300 (or close to it) on the math/CR. The only problem is I’m right on the edge of 1st/2nd quarter, but I’ve heard that A&M almost always bumps kids from my school up an entire quarter because of how competitive it is. I have taken all honors/PreAP/AP courses since freshman year, and am very involved in extracurriculars (volleyball for 3 years, charity league, lots of volunteer hours, and I started and now own a small jewelry business) I want to apply to Mays and plan on applying at least by August 3rd this summer. What do you think my chances are of getting in as of right now (I will continue to retake my SAT/ACT and my GPA should raise a bit), and what are other majors that don’t fill up as quickly that I should put as my backups?
Thanks!!!

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I would say you have a pretty good chance! Does your high school rank? I think you have a solid plan of keep on taking in until you reach the score you are happy with. I would definitely apply the first day admissions open and still have a back up plan though. Best of luck to you!

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What I’ve found about Texas A&M is that it’s a very peculiar institution, especially one with its prestige and tier-one status.
In the selectivity department, Texas A&M (69%) is less like its peer UT Austin (40%) and more like the University of Arizona (77%) or the University of New Mexico (65%). Therefore, A&M is likely to have less-than-stellar students who aren’t necessarily at the top of their classes OR whose test scores fall just above the national average.
However, you’ll still see exceptional students. These are the NMFs on tuition scholarships, as well as all engineering and business students.
Texas A&M presumably enrolls many pell grant students, perhaps due to its relative inexpensiveness and generally decent financial aid. The actual percent of pell students is unknown.

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The 69% figures are very deceptive. Those figures include full admission, provisional admission (gateway), and joint community college/TAMU (Blinn Team). The top 10% law for TX gives guaranteed admission to top 10% ranked students from TX and TAMU gives guaranteed academic admission to all who scored a min. of 1300 SAT (M+CR) or 30ACT and top 25%. There are quite a few very bright students here, 84% of the full admission offers were those guaranteed admits- Here’s the info:

Class of 2018 Data
Total apps : 35667

Full Admissions: 17076 (48% of total apps)
Guaranteed Admissions (top 10% + Acad) 14276 (84% of full admissions)
Review Applicants Full Admissions: 2800 (16% of full admissions)

Numbers used for admission profiles (on college search boards) include Blinn Team & Gateway for total admits:
21676 (61% of all apps)

40% of the total applicants (guaranteed admits) had 100% full acceptance rate
60% of total applicants (review admits) had 13% full acceptance rate

The % numbers are much higher because the guaranteed admissions policy is very well known. Admission at TAMU are on a rolling basis for majors where UT has competitive admissions to majors, they also do not have the rank/score guaranteed admit policy. So, your analysis of the freshman class is not very accurate, since many of the review admits are very close to the academic admit standards too. Sometimes the % acceptances don’t really tell the right story.

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@AGmomx2‌
Wow, I hadn’t looked at the numbers that way.
A&M is clearly composed of outstanding students, then. That’s very impressive!
(Please disregard my previous post.)

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I graduated from UT-Austin in the late 80’s, and everything @aggies8688 said about the challenges at A&M back then (parking, registering for classes, profs, graduate assistants, admin, etc.) applied to my experience as well. I think that’s Big State U for you. On the other hand, if you go in with the determination to work hard, get involved, and make the most of your educational experience, you will enjoy it and make those valuable long-term connections. Big State U offers so many opportunities that smaller, more intimate colleges can’t…and my impression of both A&M and UT is that they have implemented programs designed to make the experience less like 1/40,000+.

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Thank you all for sharing your perspectives and experiences about Texas A&M. My son is a transfer student who will start this spring 2016. We have many friends who are Aggies, and look forward to a successful experience. My son applied to three other major universities when application dates opened in August and received acceptance letters and scholarship offers within about three weeks. He did not hear from A&M until the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and will not be able to register for classes until after attending the New Student Conference. The academic advisor assured me that places are reserved for transfer students in the classes he needs this first semester. We shall see.

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@MechanicalFox I think your post is probably the most helpful of anything that I’ve read in the entire college confidential forum. Please keep sharing!

…however, Lubbock isn’t a boring town by any means!!